The WTAMU Department of Theatre presents “The Elephant Man,” directed by Royal Brantley. It will début at the Happy State Bank Theater on Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The play is about a surgeon who rescues a man being ridiculed for his disfigured body.

Brantley said that WT’s interpretation of the play will not vary much from the original one.

“It is an intrinsic interpretation,” he said. “We wanted to honor the author [Bernard Pomerance], so the play is very much what the author intended.”

WT students Zeke Lewis stars as John Merrick and Josiah Robinson plays Frederick Treves.

Brantley said that the audience should expect a good interpretation of “The Elephant Man.”

“You will experience three main things; really good acting, a wonderful visual setting and many thought-provoking questions,” he said.

The main action of the play is the interaction between Treves and Merrick. Merrick, who is looking out for Frederick to receive information about his medical condition, begins to realize that underneath his deformed exterior lies depth and sensitivity.

“It has always been one of my favorite plays,” Chance Autry, junior Business Education major, said. “I was thrilled to find out WT will be performing it.”

Brantley said what inspired him to direct “The Elephant Man” was the script itself.

“It is one of the best plays; extremely well written. It has inner strength and inner beauty. The play is full of messages.”

“The Elephant Man” is drawing an exciting response from students.

“Ever since I heard about the play I was genuinely excited to see it,” Yesenia Castro, freshman Mathematics major, said.